The present invention relates to data storage systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to an edge contact protection feature for sliders of a data head of a data storage system.
Disc drives are used to store digitally encoded information. Sliders support transducer elements for reading and/or writing data to the disc surface. The slider includes an air bearing to raise the slider to fly above the disc surface via rotation of the discs for operation of the transducer elements. In a magnetic-type disc drive, it is known that improved magnetic interaction between the disc surface and the transducer element can be achieved by reducing the spacing between the slider and the disc surface. With closer flying distance between the slider and the disc surface, there is an increased propensity for contact between the slider and disc surface which can damage the disc surface. Contact between the slider and disc surface may be caused by vibration and shock during operation of the disc drive.
Additionally, the disc surface may be susceptible to contact or impact during load and unload operations. In a dynamic ramp load system, corner edges of the slider are susceptible to contact with the disc surface. For contact starts and stops (xe2x80x9cCSSxe2x80x9d) drives sliders are parked on the landing zone of the disc surface prior to operation. Non-operational shock introduced during shipping or handling the drive may cause the slider to slam into the disc surface or during xe2x80x9cspin upxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cspin-downxe2x80x9d dynamic interaction can result in significant head-disc contact.
A slider may include rough or sharp edges due to the fabrication process. When the slider contacts or slams into the disc, the rough or sharp edges may damage the disc surface. One technique used to reduce damage introduced by contact between the slider and disc surface is to xe2x80x9cblendxe2x80x9d or round the edges of the slider to limit damaging contact between the disc surface and slider. Blending can produce a rough surface structure which can damage a disc surface and can cause debris generation at the head-disc interface. Debris can degrade disc lubricant and can pile on the disc surface interfering with read and write operations. These and other problems are addressed by the present invention.
The present invention relates to a slider for improved head-disc interface. The slider includes a slider body, an air bearing and edge surfaces. Edge surfaces of the slider are rounded and include a deposited edge covering for head-disc interface.